Fire Rising
by Forever A Writer
Summary: After living the warrior way for a week, Rusty retreats home, not wanting to continue the rough life. But, another kit decided to venture out after hearing about his tales. Will fire truly save the Clan?
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** After living the warrior way for a week, Rusty retreats home, not wanting to continue the rough life. But, another kit decided to venture out after hearing about his tales. Will fire truly save the Clan?

* * *

 **Fire Rising**

 **by. Forever A Writer**

* * *

 **ThunderClan**

 **Leader:** Bluestar - blue-gray she-cat with silver tinged muzzle

 **Deputy:** Lionheart - magnificent golden tabby tom with thick fur (Apprentice: Graypaw)

 **Medicine Cat:** Spottedleaf - beautiful dark tortoiseshell she-cat with dappled pelt

 **Warriors:**

Tigerclaw - big, dark brown tabby tom with long front claws (Apprentice: Ravenpaw)

Whitestorm - big white tom (Apprenice: Sandpaw)

Darkstripe - sleek black-and-gray tabby tom (Apprentice: Dustpaw)

Longtail - pale tabby tom with black stripes

Runningwind - swift tabby tom

Willowpelt - very pale gray she-cat with unusual blue eyes

Mousefur - small dusky brown she-cat

 **Apprentices:**

Dustpaw - dark brown tabby tom

Graypaw - long-haired solid gray tom

Ravenpaw - small, sleek black tom with white dash on chest and tail tip

Sandpaw - pale ginger she-cat

 **Queens**

Frostfur - beautiful white she-cat with blue eyes

Brindleface - pretty tabby

Goldenflower - pale ginger she-cat

Speckletail - pale tabby, oldest queen

 **Elders**

Halftail - big dark brown tabby tom with part of his tail missing

Smallear - gray tom with very small ears

Patchpelt - small black-and-white tom

One-eye - pale gray she-cat, virtually blind and deaf. Oldest cat in ThunderClan

Dappletail - once-pretty tortoiseshell she-cat

 **Cats Outside of the Clans**

Smudge - small black-and-white kitten who lives in a house at the edge of the forest

Rusty - fiery ginger kitten who lives in a house at the edge of the forest, used to be Firepaw

Patty - small red-golden tabby she-kitten, Rusty's neighbor

* * *

Chapter One

The sun has just peaked over the horizon. Patty lay at the window, long tail sweeping the air as she watched the sky become illuminated with reds, oranges, and yellows. The kitten heard a long creak and looked over her shoulder, pale eyes wide as she watched her Twoleg emerge from it's nest. Sometimes Patty enjoyed sleeping with the short, quiet Twoleg. The kitten watched as the Twoleg moved slowly to the feeding area, and the kitten jumped up at the sound of shaking pellets.

Patty walked over to her Twoleg, twisting around her odd legs before mewling for food. The pellets weren't the worst tasting thing in the world, but sometimes her mouth became dry. The Twoleg made a noise before leaning down and rubbing Patty. The kitten purred as she continued to eat. Soon, she would go outside and enjoy the morning.

Her food was quickly finished and Patty watched her Twoleg for another moment before going to the back of the den and through the small opening the Twoleg had given her. Outside was warm and the leaves were rustling in the breeze. Patty purred as she stretched out, claws digging into the soft dirt. She trotted over to the fence and wiggled a little before leaping up and landing perfectly on the fence line. The kitten sat down, claws digging into the wood to hold herself, as she looked over the forest. Patty closed her eyes, taking in the scents of the forest that were carried on the wind.

Her ear twitched when she heard the familiar sound of a bell and looked to her neighbors lawn to see Rusty, a fiery ginger tom, walk out of his own Twolegs den.

"Rusty!" She exclaimed, walking across the fence to the tom's, "What are you doing back? I thought you left to live in the forest with the wild cats?"

The tom shivered and that's when she noticed a little cut in his ear. He wiggled before jumping up next to her, collar jingling. His green eyes were wide as he sat down, looking out at the forest.

"Oh, Patty, it was _terrible_." He groaned, ears flatting.

"What do you mean? I saw those cats you went off with, they looked nice!"

"The moment I got there, a cat attacked me! He slashed my ear and tore my collar off," the tom flicked his ear, "And then another cat was _killed_ and they brought his body back!"

"Well, it is the wild," Patty murmured, looking over the forest again.

"It sure is," Rusty said, "and they changed my name to Firepaw."

"That's a cool name," Patty said, yellow eyes glistening.

"Not really, the other kittens just made fun of me for living with Twoleg's," the kitten snorted and looked down.

"It's different," Patty said, "we live different lives." The she-kitten looked out in the forest and then jumped down, grass stiff under her paws.

"What are you doing?" Rusty hissed about her, "are you mouse brain?"

"Well, I want to look," she said, looking out at the forest, "I know you had a bad time, but it might be different for me."

"I'm warning you, it's not what you think," Rusty said, "be careful, Patty."

"Sure thing Rusty," Patty purred, "you're acting like you'll never see my again."

"Because I might not!"

"Don't be so worried," Patty turned and started walking towards the forest, "I'll be back by nightfall."

With that, the golden-red tabby she-cat trotted into the forest.

The father she ventured into the forest, the more scents surrounded her. Long grass brushed her fur as she walked along, the damp smell of moss, which clung to gigantic oak trees, mixed in the breeze with the scent of prey. Another scent clung in the air, a foreign one that didn't smell like nature, but was none the less natural. Birds twittered and Patty could hear rustles of animals within the forest. Her ears were perked up, tail high with curiosity. She could barely see the blue sky through the thick canopy above her, but sunlight dappled the forest floor. Patty purred loudly as she pushed herself to the ground, stretching and rolling around the grass.

Soon, the kitten wandered farther into the forest, nose twitching as she took in new scents, eyes wide as she took in new sights. Patty soon heard a soft tumble, almost like water, and followed the sound. She began to step over rock and stones until she reached a river, a large pile of stones and rocks next to it, creating a warming place. The smell of many different cats covered the area and Patty wondered if it was the scent of the wild cats Rusty has talked about.

With a slight wiggle and a big push, Patty thrusted herself up onto the rock pile, claws scratching against the surface. This high up, she could see the river bend and flow. She walked to the edge of the stones, mouth falling open at the sight of a drop just over the edge of the rocks and into the river. The kitten inched back before turning around and jumping down to the ground again. She yawned, stretching and clawing the stone. With the sun this high up in the ground, the rocks were warm and a desirable place for a nap. Patty laid out, purring happily at the feel of the sun on her pelt. She closed her eyes, ready to doze off.

"What are you doing on RiverClan territory!" A yowl came from across the river and Patty jumped up, fur bristling. Across the river stood a small, silver kitten. Her fur shone in the sunlight, but her eyes were fiery.

"Ah, I-I," Patty stuttered.

"We won this territory fair and square!" The she-kit squealed, claws coming out and digging into the sand.

"Sorry, I didn't-,"

"Silverpaw, I told you not to run off," a older, she-cat's voice hissed and a spotted, golden tabby she-cat sulked out of the reeds on the opposite side of the river, eyes narrowed angrily towards the she-kit.

"Sorry Leopardfur, but I smelled ThunderClan, and this is _our_ territory."

Patty hunched down, frightened by the two cats across the river. Before she could say anything else, the bushes behind her shook and the she-kit looked over her shoulder to see two cats and a kitten appear. The first, a lithe white tom, narrowed his yellow eyes at the RiverClan cats before they darted towards Patty, widening for a split second. The second, a pale tabby tom with an unusually long tail, raised his lips in a hiss towards the cats across the river. And the third, the kitten, looked at Patty with wide eyes, fur bristling.

"Whitestorm," the spotted she-cat, Leopardfur, called, "what is the meaning of your apprentice being on _our_ territory?"

"Apprentice?" The pale tabby snorted, looking at Patty, "she's not-,"

The white tom's tail flicked, silencing the other tom. Whitestorm stepped forward, looking to Patty for a brief second before addressing Leopardfur.

"Our apologizes, Leopardfur. She didn't mean to trespass. It is her first day outside of camp and she got a little ... carried away."

The she-cat narrowed her eyes, inspecting the other cats before giving a short nod and flicking the silver she-kit's ear. "Come along, Silverpaw, let's continue our patrol."

"But-,"

"No but's, come along."

The two cats disappeared back into the reeds, and once their scent was gone, the three cats near Patty all turned to her.

"Now, what's a kittypet doing this far into the forest?" The pale tabby hissed, twitching an ear that had a deep V-scar in it.

"Longtail, don't be rude to our new apprentice," Whitestorm hummed, tail flicking out to stop the tom from taking a step forward.

"Apprentice? Whitestorm-," the kitten next to him mewled worriedly and the tom gave her a hard look.

"Sandpaw is getting at something, Whitestorm," the tabby, Longtail, said a little more calmly, "after the last kittypet..."

"Y-you mean Rusty?" Patty finally spoke up, all the cats redirecting their attention to her.

"You know Firepaw?" the apprentice said, nose twitching, "He disappeared the other night and ... we were wondering where he was."

"He's with Twolegs," Patty huffed, her pelt flattening, "he told me that the forest was scary, and he was attacked, so he left. I think it's beautiful so far though, I don't know why he was making such a fit over it."

The three cats blinked at her in silence, Patty watching the all of them with a twitching tail and ears. She sniffed the air, fur ruffling a little as a soft breeze swept past them. Whitestorm looked to Longtail, the pale tabby shrugging and turning around to walk back into the bushes.

"I'd like to introduce you to someone, kittypet." Whitestorm hummed, walking forward and wrapping his tail around her shoulders.

"It's Patty."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary:** After living the warrior way for a week, Rusty retreats home, not wanting to continue the rough life. But, another kit decided to venture out after hearing about his tales. Will fire truly save the Clan?

* * *

 **Fire Rising**

 **by. Forever A Writer**

* * *

Chapter Two

The sun was already half way in the sky by the time they had arrived to their destination. Patty had never walked for that long, and her paws were a little sore, but she wouldn't let her tiredness show. On the journey there, to ThunderClan camp, all of Patty's questions were answered. She thought back to what Whitestorm had explained, that him and Longtail were warriors of ThunderClan, and that Sandpaw was an apprentice. They lived in a Clan, ThunderClan, and every cat helped each other. They caught prey to eat, they had medicine to heal them, and a leader that watched over them and guided them.

"Bluestar," Sandpaw had said, eyes widening a little, "she's quite the powerful she-cat."

"Recently she's been a little shaky," Longtail scoffed.

"Can you blame her, Longtail? Her deputy passed." Whitestorm hissed at the fellow warrior.

"Deputy?" Patty had asked, tripping slightly over a root.

"A deputy is the cat who becomes the next leader once the leader losses all their lives," Sandpaw said, rolling her eyes, "Do we really have to explain this _again_ to another kittypet who's going to leave?"

Whitestorm gave his apprentice a hard look and she sighed, mumbling an apology and inching ahead, head low.

"Our last deputy, Redtail, was a great warrior." Whitestorm continued.

"He died," Longtail muttered, "murdered by RiverClan."

"I think Rusty, er, Firepaw told me that," Patty said, "he said he saw you bring a dead tom into camp."

"We morn our dead," Whitestorm said, "pay a vigil before burying them so they can join our ancestors in StarClan."

"StarClan? How many Clan's are there?"

"Four," Longtail said, "ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, and ShadowClan. You're lucky you weren't near ShadowClan border. They would have torn you limb from limb, kittypet."

"Enough," Whitestorm growled, the other warrior rolling his eyes before moving faster to join Sandpaw.

"Longtail's right, there are four of us," Whitestorm said, "StarClan is up there."

The tom flicked his tail up to the sky and Patty looked up, eyes wide. "I don't see anything."

"You can see them at night," Whitestorm murmured, "the stars in the skies are all our fallen ancestors. They help guide us in times of trouble and watch over us. They gift us with prophecies and words of wisdom. They also give our leaders their nine lives."

"Nine lives...,"

Patty shook her head, being pulled back into present time. They stood outside of the bramble entrance to ThunderClan camp. Patty could already smell the cats that await inside.

"Are you ready, kittypet?" Longtail asked before sliding through the bushes.

Patty nodded before sliding in as well, the bramble bushes barely tugging at her fur as she emerged on the other side. She blinked a couple of times, taking in the camp. A gray she-cat lay out in the sun, her pale fur groomed nicely. Two toms walked by, mumbling to each other and sent hard glares towards the group that just came in. A squeal came from her side and she looked to see kits playing new a she-cat, another she-cat with a rounded belly laying there as well.

"Whitestorm," a gruff voice came from the far side of camp and Patty looked to see a golden tom with thick neck fur emerging from a large rock formation. Behind him followed a sleek, gray-blue she-cat. Patty's mouth opened a little in awe. She must have been Bluestar, ThunderClan leader.

"Lionheart," Whitestorm said, walking forward and wrapping his tail around Patty's shoulders, "this is Patty."

"Another kittypet?" Someone snorted, Patty looking to see a dark gray tabby tom, one that had glared at her earlier, "Didn't we learn our lesson with the last one?"

"Rusty, ah, Firepaw as you know him, went back to his Twolegs," Patty said, making all the cats in the Clan grumble, rolling their eyes, "but I-I'm interested in Clan life."

"Do you know the dangers that come with this?" Lionheart said, towering over the Clan with Bluestar next to him.

"I-I know that I would have to learn to hunt, and that the Clan comes first," Patty said, eyes looking over the entire Clan, "and I know that I would have to train for moons in order to learn all I need to."

"Why don't we do what we did with the last kittypet," the dark gray tom snorted, looking to Longtail who huffed and looked off to the side.

"Yes," Bluestar finally spoke and all the cats looked up to her, "why don't we. Darkstripe?"

"Bluestar, you can't-," Lionheart was cut off when the leader raised her tail, silencing the tom.

"With pleasure," the gray tabby stepped forward, rolling his shoulders, "this isn't going to be some play fight, kit."

Patty gulped and her fur ruffled up when Whitestorm nudged her forward. The cats circled and Patty crouched down, watching the gray tabby. They circled each other slowly. She felt vastly out skilled, but she had to calm down and take into account her advantages. First, she was small. She would be able to crawl under and through his legs in order to avoid his attacks when close. Second, she was probably faster then the tom. Third, there was an injury on his shoulder. Patty could see the scratches on his shoulder, not fresh but not fully healed either.

Darkstripe pounced and Patty sprinted forward, crawling underneath the toms belly. He hissed, spinning quickly and landed a hard blow on her back. Patty was thrown forward, tumbling a few times. She hissed and got up, turning around quickly and digging her claws into the ground. The tom's tail lashed and he jumped forward again. This time, Patty moved forward, spinning under the tom so she could face him when he turned around. She jumped before he turned towards her, claws digging into his back. The tom yowled, bucking and trying to throw her off. She struggled to cling on, and leaned forward, digging her teeth into his wound, causing the tom to yowl out in pain.

The tom rolled over, crushing the kit under him. The air left her lung and she huffed, trying to regain her breath. Darkstripe stood over her, a paw to her throat as he stepped down, cutting off her air supply. Patty struggled, claws digging into the tom's leg, trying to rip his paw off, but he only pushed down farther. Her vision was starting to go white and she could hear yowling in her surroundings.

The pressure was quickly released and Patty gasped for breath, squirming away from the ThunderClan warrior. A cat rushed to her side, helping her up. Patty looked to see Sandpaw, the apprentice glaring across the way to Darkstripe as she helped Patty up. Patty looked to see Lionheart growled towards the tabby tom, the warrior cowering back, hissing.

"As we can see," Whitestorm said, looking to Bluestar, "the kittypet can put up quiet the fight."

Bluestar glared down from atop her stones. Her pelt shone blue in the sunlight. The whole clan looked up to her, wondering what their leader would say.

"Sandpaw," Bluestar said smoothly, "take this kittypet to Spottedleaf. Whitestorm, Longtail and Lionheart join me in my den." With that, the leader turn around and disappeared into the den that was within the rocks. The three cats she summoned walked forward, the rest of the Clan dispersing. Another cat rushed forward, a brown tabby tom who was the same size as Patty and Sandpaw, another apprentice.

"Thanks Dustpaw," Sandpaw said gruffly, the two ThunderClan apprentices helping Patty to her paws. "The last kittypet wasn't as fierce as you."

"Yeah," Dustpaw said, "I mean, you are a _kittypet_ and everything, but at least you didn't have one of those silly collars like he did. Plus, Firepaw only landed a good blow on Longtail that gave him his split ear. _You_ on the other paw gave Darkstripe a couple of good scars. Reopening his wound like that? I've never seen a cat do that before!"

"Then again we've only been apprentice for a moon," Sandpaw said smirking to Dustpaw.

They walked over to a darker corner of camp, ferns growing thick and wild. The scent of plants and herbs assaulted the roof of Patty's mouth, making her cringe a little. The scent of a cat was also present, mixing in with all the other smells.

"Spottedleaf?" Dustpaw called as they entered the den. In the back sat a hunched-over, dark tortoiseshell she-cat. She turned her head, revealing a pretty, slender face and soft amber eyes. "Darkstripe and Patty got into a fight."

"So that's the ruckus I was hearing," the she-cat sighed, "come on, bring her closer."

Dustpaw and Sandpaw helped Patty forward. The injured she-cat sat down, wincing at her wound. Spottedleaf sniffed her wounds before humming to herself. She turned back around, picking something up in her mouth and began chewing it. Patty hissed as the pulp was applied to her wounds. Spottedleaf then covered it with some cobwebs, stopping the bleeding and making it so the pulp would stay on her wounds.

"He also stepped on her throat," Sandpaw said.

"Try speaking for me," Spottedleaf said, turning to the kittypet.

"How do you know what leaves to use?" Patty asked, her voice coming out hoarse and her throat stinging as she spoke.

"I had a mentor, just like the other apprentices," Spottedleaf said, turning to the back of the den, "except instead of hunting and fighting, I learned the different herbs and their uses."

"Cool."

"Okay, that's enough talking for you," Spottedleaf turned back around, a twig in her mouth with a golden liquid dripping off, "honey, it'll sooth your throat."

Patty leaned forward and lick the honey, surprised at the sweetness of it. She cleaned the stick off, swallowing the honey and purring happily.

"Now I don't want you talking for the rest of the day," Spottedleaf said, "also, Sandpaw, if you see Ravenpaw will you send him here? I still need to check on his wound from that battle."

"Of course, Spottedleaf," Sandpaw purred and helped Patty away. Patty flicked her tail in thanks before walking out of the den with Dustpaw and Sandpaw by her side.

Back in the middle of camp, Bluestar had remerged from her den, Lionheart behind her. Whitestorm and Longtail had jumped down from the ledge, nodding to each other. Longtail looked across the way toward Patty and gave her a nod. Patty felt something surge in her chest, pride and excitement, as Bluestar yowled.

"Let all cat's old enough come forward for a Clan meeting."

Everyone returned back to the center of the camp, settling down. Bluestar looked over her Clan, taking one last look toward Lionheart over her shoulder before giving a sigh and straigthen her shoulders.

"Today, we welcome a new apprentice into our Clan," the leader said, "after her battle with Darkstripe, Patty has proven herself to be strong. Also, the RiverClan cats have already spotted her and mistaken her as our apprentice. With a shortage on warriors, and less kits being born, I've decided to accept her into our Clan."

Patty stepped forward when the leader flicked her tail. She dipped her head toward Bluestar, who nodded solemnly.

"From this day forward, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Morningpaw. Longtail will train you. Meeting dismissed."

The cats went back to their daily routine, some congratulating Morningpaw. Longtail and Whitestorm walked over and the white tom purred happily.

"We told Bluestar how you ran into the RiverClan cats," Whitestorm said, "and considering how close of a pelt pattern you and Sandpaw had, we decided we could play you off as sisters."

"Oh great, sisters with a rabbit pellet eater," Sandpaw snorted, rolling her eyes. Dustpaw gave her a shove and the two snickered before apologizing to Morningpaw. "Spottedleaf says she can't talk for the rest of the day," Sandpaw continued, "because of her throat."

"Fine by me," Longtail snorted, "she seem's like she'd ask a lot of questions."

"She's right in front of you," Whitestorm huffed, cuffing Longtail's ear, "don't forget that you were in her situation only two moons ago."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Longtail sighed, slunching over and rubbing his ear, "why don't you take Morningpaw to met the other apprentices. It's going to get dark soon anyways. Give her a nest or something."

"Sure thing, grumpy paws," Sandpaw muttered, turning around, "come on Morningpaw! Ravenpaw and Graypaw should be getting ready for bed now."

"I have to go make sure the elders are comfortable," Dustpaw huffed, "I'll see you two later."

The three apprentice went their seperate ways, Sandpaw leading Morningpaw to the apprentices den. Inside were two toms, purring with laugher over a joke the she-cats just missed. The two toms looked over, eyes wide.

"Morningpaw, these are Graypaw and Ravenpaw." Sandpaw said, tail flicking to each of them.

"I can't believe that you ripped Darkstripes wound open again," Graypaw said, his fluffy fur getting even bigger with excitement.

"Ye-yeah. That was really cool," Ravenpaw said, eyes wide.

"Oh, Spottedleaf wanted to see you, Ravenpaw," Sandpaw said, "she wanted to check your wounds."

"Right," Ravenpaw muttered, eyes glazing over as he got up and dragged himself out of the den.

"Ever since the battle, he's been pretty shaken up," Graypaw said, "he saw Redtail get murdered by Oakheart."

"Easy Graypaw," Dustpaw's voice hissed from the front of the den, running his tail over Sandpaw's shoulder as he entered the den. The ginger she-cat looked down to her paw sadly and her dark tabby friend gave her a lick on the ear before settling into his own nest. "Morningpaw, Longtail's old nest is still in here. You can sleep there for the night and we'll change it out in the morning."

Morningpaw looked to see the empty, stale nest next to Dustpaw and nodded, walking over and settling down. Sandpaw's nest was on the other side of the tom and she curled up, already falling asleep.

"At least the den doesn't reek of kittypet like that other one," Dustpaw snorted.

"Firepaw wasn't _that_ bad," Graypaw huffed, looking a little hurt.

"Well I'm sorry your kittypet friend was too much of a coward to stay in ThunderClan, unlike Morningpaw."

"Both of you shut up," Sandpaw hissed.

"Sandpaw's still a little sour because our old deputy, Redtail, was her father," Graypaw whispered, "and he was Dustpaw's old mentor. You bet up his new one today."

"Shut your bile mouth," Dustpaw hissed, "Redtail's death was hard on all of us."

"Geez, I'm just updating her on Clan news," Graypaw huffed, moving around in his nest.

"Well we aren't sharing tongues. Night time is for sleeping, not gossiping."

"Sorry," Ravenpaw appeared again, a new cobweb on his shoulder, "I hope I didn't wake anyone."

"Not at all," Dustpaw sighed, "now let's all shut up and go to bed before one of the warriors come in and claws our ears off for being loud."

"You worry too much," Graypaw yawned, "watch, soon we'll be the warriors and the young apprentices will be scared of us."

"Yeah, scared of a big fluff ball," Ravenpaw snickered, making the others purr with laughter.

"For the last time," Sandpaw hissed menicingly from her den, "all of you shut up. I swear, WindClan could hear you from their camp with how loud you're al being."

"Alright sleepy kit," Dustpaw rolled his eyes, settling down, "Sleep well."

"You too," Graypaw and Ravenpaw answered.

Morningpaw watched as the other apprentices all quickly fell asleep. The smell of the wild surrounded her, the sound of crickets chirping just outside of the den lulled her to sleep. She knew that this was where she was suppose to be.

* * *

 **ThunderClan**

 **Leader:** Bluestar - blue-gray she-cat with silver tinged muzzle

 **Deputy:** Lionheart - magnificent golden tabby tom with thick fur (Apprentice: Graypaw)

 **Medicine Cat:** Spottedleaf - beautiful dark tortoiseshell she-cat with dappled pelt

 **Warriors:**

Tigerclaw - big, dark brown tabby tom with long front claws (Apprentice: Ravenpaw)

Whitestorm - big white tom (Apprenice: Sandpaw)

Darkstripe - sleek black-and-gray tabby tom (Apprentice: Dustpaw)

Longtail - pale tabby tom with black stripes (Apprentice: Morningpaw)

Runningwind - swift tabby tom

Willowpelt - very pale gray she-cat with unusual blue eyes

Mousefur - small dusky brown she-cat

 **Apprentices:**

Dustpaw - dark brown tabby tom

Graypaw - long-haired solid gray tom

Ravenpaw - small, sleek black tom with white dash on chest and tail tip

Sandpaw - pale ginger she-cat

Morningpaw - small red-golden tabby she-kitten

 **Queens**

Frostfur - beautiful white she-cat with blue eyes

Brindleface - pretty tabby

Goldenflower - pale ginger she-cat

Speckletail - pale tabby, oldest queen

 **Elders**

Halftail - big dark brown tabby tom with part of his tail missing

Smallear - gray tom with very small ears

Patchpelt - small black-and-white tom

One-eye - pale gray she-cat, virtually blind and deaf. Oldest cat in ThunderClan

Dappletail - once-pretty tortoiseshell she-cat

 **Cats Outside of the Clans**

Smudge - small black-and-white kitten who lives in a house at the edge of the forest

Rusty - fiery ginger kitten who lives in a house at the edge of the forest, used to be Firepaw


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary:** After living the warrior way for a week, Rusty retreats home, not wanting to continue the rough life. But, another kit decided to venture out after hearing about his tales. Will fire truly save the Clan?

* * *

 **Fire Rising**

 **by. Forever A Writer**

* * *

Chapter Three

Morningpaw woke up the next morning to someone poking at her side. She yawned, blinking her eyes open to see Dustpaw standing over her. The sun hadn't broken the tree line yet, so the camp was still pretty dull and empty. He nodded to the den opening and Morningpaw got up, following her fellow clanmate out. The both of them stretched out, their mentors waiting. Longtail was sitting, grooming his chest, while Darkstripe paced around.

"About time," the dark tabby huffed, "kittypet's always think they can laze about."

"We didn't even tell her she had a morning patrol," Longtail argued, "also, we have plenty of time. Spottedleaf wanted to see her before we go, about her throat."

Darkstripe's eyes flashed with pride at the mention of the injury he gave the apprentice. Morningpaw felt a shiver go down her spine and she started towards Spottedleaf's den with Dustpaw behind her.

"Don't worry about him," Dustpaw said, "Darkstripe's a senior warrior, but he's no leader. He will always follow what Tigerclaw says, and Tigerclaw wasn't really impressed with the little move Darkstripe used on you."

Morningpaw nodded and entered Spottedleaf's den. The medicine cat was sorting out herbs, and she turned to see the apprentices. She purred happily and walked over.

"How are you feeling, Morningpaw?"

"Better," the she-cat said, eyes widening when she realized she could talk normally again. "Wow, a little bit of honey did _that_?"

Spottedleaf purred, moving to look at her other injuries. "It's amazing what herbs can do. Some take more time to work than others, depending on the injury. Your scratches look fine as well. I'm going to just put some cobweb on it and then you can be off."

"We're going on a border patrol," Dustpaw said, "I know the territory, but since we were going on the patrol already, Longtail thought it would be a good idea to add you and just show you as much as we can."

"Good, then you shouldn't be straining yourself too much," Spottedleaf purred, "if any of your wounds bother you or open up, feel free to come see me."

"Thanks Spottedleaf," both of the ThunderClan apprentices mewed before trotting out to join their mentors.

"I can talk now," Morningpaw purred.

"Oh joy," Longtail snorted, truing and flicking his tail, "now come along, we're a little late."

"I'm sure Lionheart wont mind," Dustpaw huffed as the warriors took up a fast pace towards the camp exit, "he's pretty calm."

"Still, you don't want to upset your deputy," Darkstripe said, "even if they are a little ... docile."

The four cats walked deeper into the forest, Morningpaw taking in her surroundings and trying to recognize and remember her new home. The sun had only started to peer, cast shallow light throughout the sky and making it pink. Morningpaw could smell the crisp leaf-fall air. A new scent joined, and the cats stopped for a brief moment as Darkstripe sprayed his scent around the area, and that's when Morningpaw noticed a worn out trail on the forest ground.

"There's a Twoleg's trail here," Longtail said, "sometimes they walk their dogs on it. Try scenting for it to see if there are any near."

Morningpaw nodded, opening her mouth to take in the many scents around her. The smell of dog made her fur raise a little, but she soon realized it was old and stale, along with a Twoleg scent. She nodded to Longtail and he nodded back, flicking his tail for thr patrol to move along.

"We're going towards the ShadowClan border," Longtail explained to his apprentice as Darkstripe and Dustpaw took the lead, "they're one of the four Clans. They're pretty rough. Our boarder with them is pretty hard to get past."

"What do you mean?" Morningpaw asked, ears twitching.

"Well, you'll see. Come along."

The group continued their pace, making it to the boarder by the time the sun had gotten well into the sky. A strong, wicked smell had begun to fill Morningpaw's noise and she scrunched up her face as the group broke through a few bushes. A few tail lengths away was a thick, black surface cutting through the forest. On the other side were flat, marchy lands hidden by a tree line. The patrol walked forwards towards the black thing and Morningpaw cautiously placed a paw on it, hissing and jumping back at the warmth of the hard, black stuff.

Suddenly, a roaring noise came from her left and Morningpaw heard the other three cats jump back, hissing at her. Morningpaw's eyes widened as she watched a large creature rush towards her. She had seen them outside of the window she use to sit on, but she had never seen on so close up. The thing raced towards her, getting bigger and bigger, and Morningpaw was frozen on the hard ground. She felt teeth suddenly sink into her scruff and she was pulled out of the way of the creature as it screamed, moving quickly past them.

She tumbled off to the side, and a new scent entered her nose and Morningpaw shook herself, looking up to see a large, white tom standing over her. His paws were massive and jet black. Narrow, yellow eyes looked down at her and he then looked towards Darkstripe and Longtail.

"Do a better job at watching your apprentices," the warrior snarled, his scent hitting Morningpaw.

"You're a ShadowClan cat, aren't you!" Morningpaw exclaimed, springing up.

"Yes," the tom snarled, "and you need to watch where you're going as well. I don't like wasting my time saving ThudnerClan apprentices."

"Sorry Blackfoot," Longtail said, "this is her first time seeing the Thunderpath. The monster just frightened her I'm sure."

"Frightened or not," Blackfoot snarled, "an apprentice should know to stay away from the Thunderpath."

"You're really fast," Morningpaw said, "you ran across that path without an hesitation! That was so cool!"

Blackfoot scrunched his face up as he looked to the apprentice and then turned, tail flicking. Across the boarder were a few other cats. Blackfoot looked over his shoulder.

"Next time, I wont risk my own neck for your apprentice, Longtail."

With that, the ShadowClan tom looked both ways before sprinting across the Thunderpath, the other group of cats disappearing behind the treelines. Morningpaw looked to her mentor who just shook his head, turning around so the cats could continue back.

"Shouldn't we finish?" Dustpaw asked.

"It's fine," Darkstripe muttered, "we'll hunt on the way back."

"I've never caught anything before," Morningpaw said, stumbling after the others.

"Good, then you'll learn." Darkstripe spat, "we'll go near the Great Sycamore. There are bound to be some squirrels hiding around there."

The patrol continued into the forest, Morningpaw trying her hardest to keep up and take in her surroundings. By the time they reached the Great Sycamore, her paws were sore and she felt her stomach begin to growl. Darkstripe simply nodded to Dustpaw and the two toms dispersed into the surrounding foliage. Morningpaw took a moment to take in the massive tree in front of her, mouth falling open in awe. Her attention was brought back when Longtail flicked her ear. He nodded to the side and she followed him over to a bare patch of grass next to the tree.

"Show me a hunting crouch," he said, nodding to her.

Morningpaw nodded, lowering herself and putting her weight into her back legs, tail flat above the ground and ears trained to listen for any movement. Longtail walked around her, humming before pushing her rump down with his paw and placing his tail on her back so she could lower herself a little more.

"Not bad, kittypet," he said, "now, see if you can smell anything near by."

Morningpaw nodded, scenting the air and trying to pick up a smell. Leaves and dirt filled her senses and she huffed, closing her eyes to concentrate hard. Soon, the smell of a creature wafted over her. Mouse. She had smelled them in her grass area at the Twoleg's place.

"A mouse," Morningpaw exclaimed, looking up to her mentor. He smirked a little, nodding.

"Try and catch it. It's your first time so don't be afraid if you mess up," Longtail sat down, tail curling around his paws, "I'll wait for you here."

Morningpaw nodded and continued forward towards the smell of the mouse, making sure to not move an inch form her crouching position. The smell was getting stronger and stronger and Morningpaw soon saw the dusty brown creature through the grass blades. It sat a few tail lengths away, nibbling on a berry. Luckily, the wind was still, not a single breeze blowing by to give away her position. She steadied herself, licking her jaws before springing out of the grass, claws out, and she swiftly bit the mouses neck as it let out a desperate squeal.

Morningpaw purred loudly as she walked back to where Longtail sat. She laid the mouse at his paws and Longtail looked down, impressed.

"Not bad," Longtail said, standing up, "a little messy, but that's expected for a first kill. I'm going to try and find something too. You can go look around again, but don't go too far now."

Morningpaw nodded and walked off as her mentor went a different way. She smiled to herself, closing her eyes for a brief moment to feel the warm sun on her fur and to smell the scent of the forest around her. In that moment, she knew she was where she was suppose to be. She was a ThunderClan cat.

* * *

 **ThunderClan**

 **Leader:** Bluestar - blue-gray she-cat with silver tinged muzzle

 **Deputy:** Lionheart - magnificent golden tabby tom with thick fur (Apprentice: Graypaw)

 **Medicine Cat:** Spottedleaf - beautiful dark tortoiseshell she-cat with dappled pelt

 **Warriors:**

Tigerclaw - big, dark brown tabby tom with long front claws (Apprentice: Ravenpaw)

Whitestorm - big white tom (Apprenice: Sandpaw)

Darkstripe - sleek black-and-gray tabby tom (Apprentice: Dustpaw)

Longtail - pale tabby tom with black stripes (Apprentice: Morningpaw)

Runningwind - swift tabby tom

Willowpelt - very pale gray she-cat with unusual blue eyes

Mousefur - small dusky brown she-cat

 **Apprentices:**

Dustpaw - dark brown tabby tom

Graypaw - long-haired solid gray tom

Ravenpaw - small, sleek black tom with white dash on chest and tail tip

Sandpaw - pale ginger she-cat

Morningpaw - small red-golden tabby she-kitten

 **Queens**

Frostfur - beautiful white she-cat with blue eyes

Brindleface - pretty tabby

Goldenflower - pale ginger she-cat

Speckletail - pale tabby, oldest queen

 **Elders**

Halftail - big dark brown tabby tom with part of his tail missing

Smallear - gray tom with very small ears

Patchpelt - small black-and-white tom

One-eye - pale gray she-cat, virtually blind and deaf. Oldest cat in ThunderClan

Dappletail - once-pretty tortoiseshell she-cat

 **Cats Outside of the Clans**

Smudge - small black-and-white kitten who lives in a house at the edge of the forest

Rusty - fiery ginger kitten who lives in a house at the edge of the forest, used to be Firepaw


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary:** After living the warrior way for a week, Rusty retreats home, not wanting to continue the rough life. But, another kit decided to venture out after hearing about his tales. Will fire truly save the Clan?

* * *

 **Fire Rising**

 **by. Forever A Writer**

* * *

Chapter Four

Morningpaw sat impatiently at the enterence of the camp. The full moon was high in the air. Ravenpaw lay next to her, the black tom grooming himself. Tonight was the night of the Gathering, a meting between all four Clans. Ravenpaw had hurt himself training a few suns ago so he couldn't go, and Bluestar had yet to say a single word to Morningpaw since she joined, so it was no surprise that her name wasn't called for the meeting. But, Sandpaw, Dustpaw, and Graypaw had gone. This was their second time each. Morningpaw was excited to see what they would report. The three apprentices had promised to tell her.

"I think I might head off to the den," Ravenpaw sighed after a bit, "Tigerclaw wants me on the morning hunting patrol."

"That's stupid," Morningpaw snorted, looking to the tom, "your front paw is the one that's hurt. How are you suppose to catch any pray."

"Guess I'll just toughen up," the tom said, looking off, "that's what Tigerclaw says I have to do. You're even better at hunting than I am and I'm one of the older apprentices."

"Don't worry, Ravenpaw," Morningpaw purred, "everyone has their own way to learn things."

"I don't know," Ravenpaw sighed, looking up at the moon, "sometimes I wonder what StarClan truly has laid out for me."

At the mention of the ancestors, Morningpaw glanced over to Spottedleaf's den. The young she-cat had gone to the Gathering, like all medicine cats do. StarClan had a lot of say in how the Clans worked, it seemed. Morningpaw wondered if she would every truly believe in them.

"How do medicine cats become ... medicine cats?" Morningpaw asked, looking to Ravenpaw.

The tom's ears perked up and he looked to Morningpaw. "Oh, they have apprenticeships, just like us! They just train in the work of herbs and interpreting prophecies and messages from StarClan. They learn a little bit of battle training, but nothing too big."

"Sounds like something you'd like," Morningpaw purred.

"Oh, I don't know," Ravenpaw said, looking a little nervous, "I don't know if I can even do that. I've been a warrior apprentice for so long..."

"Nonsense," Morningpaw said, "and besides, there should be more options. You shouldn't feel obligated to be a warrior. Medicine cats are important too."

"M-maybe I'll talk to Spottedleaf," Ravenpaw said, ears flicking, "I don't know, I can't really see myself like that."

"But can you see yourself as a warrior?" Morningpaw asked, tail flicking, "There's only two options, Ravenpaw."

"What if I'm not able for either of them?"

Morningpaw went to answer, but was cut off by the ThunderClan warriors who came walking through the enterence. The Gathering must have ended. Morningpaw waited for the other apprentices to come through, the three cats being the last in line. They trotted to Ravenpaw and Morningpaw, their eyes drooping.

"How was it?" Morningpaw asked, tail flicking, "what happened?"

"Nothing, it was boring," Graypaw sighed, "as usual."

"Oh...,"

"Gatherings are for all the Clans to update on what's going on in their Clan, really," Sandpaw said, sitting down, "they tell each other if they have any new kits, if any apprentice have been made, or any warriors have been made. Plus, if there are any foxes or badgers that have roamed around. Even though we're different Clans, we all still look out for one another."

"That makes sense," Morningpaw tilted her head a little.

Graypaw's mouth opened wide as he let out a long yawn, the fluffy tom blinking slowly as he stood up.

"I'm exhausted," he sighed, "and Ravenpaw and I are going out in the morning."

"Yeah, I have a border patrol with Whitestorm tomorrow too," Sandpaw said, standing up, "we should all head of to bed."

"Well we have battle training tomorrow," Dustpaw said, looking towards Morningpaw, "do you want me to show you a couple moves before we head to sleep? So that I don't bet you up too bad?"

Morningpaw purred with laughter, bumping her shoulder with his as she walked towards the den by Sandpaw's side.

"You should have tired a few," Sandpaw yawned, "I mean, Longtail's going to have to catch you up to us."

"I'm sure I'll learn quickly," Morningpaw said, looking over her shoulder to see Dustpaw still sitting there, Darkstripe behind him. The dark tabby looked to Morningpaw and she felt a shiver go down her spine. She trotted a little fast, disappearing inside the den. She curled up into her den, glancing towards the sleeping bodies of Graypaw and Ravenpaw. Sandpaw emrged soon after, yawning and taking her own nest.

"'Night Morningpaw," the pale ginger mumbled, closing her eyes.

"'Night Sandpaw."

* * *

Morningpaw huffed as Dustpaw pinned her down, the brown tom smirking. Morningpaw grumbled, wiggling around until the tom let her go. She shook the dirt off of her as Dustpaw purred, turned, and walked back to Darkstripe. Longtail's head was hanging and Morningpaw knew she was letting her mentor down.

"Alright, again," Darkstripe said, nudging Dustpaw forward.

"I think we should have a break," Longtail said, walking over to Morningpaw, "if you don't mind."

"Sure, give the kittypet as much time as she needs," Darkstripe scuffed.

Morningpaw huffed, looking up to Longtail with sad eyes. Her mentor sighed and flicked his tail, telling her to follow him. They walked into the bushes, leaving the sandy hallow for a quick moment. They walked for a few moments before Longtail stopped and sat down, looking into the forest. Morningpaw stood behind her mentor, tail dragging on the ground.

"Why did you join the Clan?" Longtail asked suddenly.

"What?" Morningpaw asked, confused.

"Why did you join the Clan?" Longtail repeated, turning around towards her.

"I, uh, well I was tired of my old life and-,"

"And you thought this would be better? You thought that fighting other cats, competing for food, going to bed hungry and cold was a better life than your kittypet one?" Longtail snarled, tail fluffing up and lashing.

"I-I-,"

"Morningpaw, you need to think about this harder," he said, sighing and trying to calm his temper, "Most of the Clan has welcomed you, the apprentices are all trying to help you, I'm trying to help you, and yet you still cant perform a simple lunge attack, and your kills are as messy as your first. When you clean the elder's nests, there are thorns in it, and the queens have told me you've brought them cold prey."

Morningpaw's ears went flat as she looked down at her paws.

"You need to realize this is your life now, we are your Clan, your family."

"Well it doesn't feel like it," she grumbled, "Tigerclaw and Darkstripe still make fun of me, and you're always around them. You're suppose to be my mentor and helping me like you said, but you're always with them. We're always training with Dustpaw and Darkstripe. Maybe I'm doing so bad because they don't like me."

"Toughen up," Longtail snarled, "there are going to be many more cats within this forest that you will encounter that won't like you, that will try to kill you. And you know what you need to do? You need to stand up straight, get your claws out, and fight back."

"Bluestar hasn't even said anything to me," Morningpaw snarled back, "my own leader hasn't awknowledged my existance since she apppointed me to the youngest warrior."

"Then make her."

"What?" Morningpaw said, confused.

"Make her notice you," Longtail said, "you're a kittypet-you _were_ a kittypet. That's hard to shake, especially since the last one fled."

"I'm not Rusty!"

"Then prove it! Show her you're better than him, show her you're better than the others. You need to work ten times hard, hunt more, run faster, battle harder. You are not a true warrior cat by blood, but you can become a true warrior cat by loyalty."

Morningpaw sat there, looking at the pale tabby tom. He was right. She had been struggling in Clan life, though she felt welcomed and comfortable, she had been falling behind. It was time for her to prove herself.

"Now let's go," Longtail said, "we still have some more battle training to do, then we'll go for a quick hunt."

"Of course, Longtail," Morningpaw followed her mentor, a new swing to her step. She wouldn't let him down. She wouldn't let her Clan down.

* * *

"I don't think this is what Longtail meant when he said to fight harder for your Clan," Graypaw said, standning next to Morningpaw as they stood over the limp body of a thick furred, gray she-cat. She smelled like death, and her pelt was matted. Her face, now limp and emotionless, was covered in scared, her ears torn to shreds.

"Well, she was hunting on our territory!" Morningpaw hissed, nervous, "What-What do we do Graypaw?" she asked.

"Well my patrol isn't too far away," Graypaw said, "you stay here while I grab them."

"What do I do if she wakes up!"

The apprentice was already gone though, and Morningpaw hissed to herself. She was on her first lone task of hunting when she had ran into the she-cat, literally. The she-cat had attacked, hissing and fussing, but Morningpaw had shoved her away, the she-cat slamming her head on a near by rock and passing out. That's when Graypaw had popped out, trying to scare Morningpaw but instead discovering her and the intruder.

"You did the right thing," Morningpaw mumbled to herself, pacing next to the body. "She attacked you, you fought, oh mouse dung, what if she'd dead though! You're not suppose to kill your enemies in battle unless need be!"

Soon, the patrol emerged, consisting of Bluestar, Tigerclaw, Darkstripe, Willowpelt, and Dustpaw. Graypaw was leading them, the fluffy tom bouncing with excitment.

"You shoud have seen her, she battled the intruered so brutaly! It was insane! Tigerclaw would have been impressed!"

"Quiet now," Bluestar snarled, shutting the apprentice up, "what's the meaning of this, Morningpaw?"

"I-I was hunting alone when I ran into this she-cat. She attacked and I fought back. When I pushed her off, she flew back and hit her head on a stone. I think she was knocked out. She smelled like ShadowClan, I believe."

"Indeed," Tigerclaw said, walking to the she-cat, "my, my, it looks like this kittypet found us a ShadowClan medicine cat intruding on our territory."

"Easy Tigerclaw," Bluestar said, moving past Morningpaw, "Yellowfang?"

"Whoa, you got Yellowfang?" Graypaw said, bouncing a little to look over the other cats.

"Is she important?" Morningpaw asked, moving out of the way as the warriors discussed what to do.

"A little," Graypaw said, "she was a warrior before she became a medicine cat."

"Which is pretty unusual," Dustpaw added, "but I wonder why she wasn't on ShadowClan teritory? Did she say anything to you?"

"No," Morningpaw said, watching as Tigerclaw and Darkstriped moved, the dray gray tabby pushing the unconscious she-cat upon the larger tom's back, "she just hissed and growled."

"Weird," Dustpaw said, watching Tigerclaw begin walking back to camp.

"Morningpaw," Bluestar said, catching the apprentice off guard, "when we get back to camp I would like to speak to you."

"O-okay Bluestar."

The warriors walked off, the three apprentice following a little ways behind. Morningpaw stopped momentarily to grab the pray she had caught while hunting, a simple mouse and a fairly large rabbit. The queens would enjoy the rabbit. She followed her friends, her heart pounding as she wondered what Bluestar was going to say.

When they returned to camp, Tigerclaw brought Yellowfang to Spottedleaf's den. Ravenpaw stood outside, a few herbs in his mouth. He had run on an errand for the medicine cat. His eyes were wide at the sight of Yellowfang and Tigerclaw and he quickly followed them into the den. Morningpaw hoped that the she-cat would be alright.

She walked towards the fresh-kill pile to drop the kill off. Dustpaw followed her as Graypaw followed his mentor to the elders den. As Morningpaw went to grab the rabbit for the queens, but before she could, Bluestar called her name. Morningpaw looked to the leader who was disappearing in her den.

"Do you mind taking this to the queens?" Morningpaw asked, placing the rabbit down.

"Of course," Dustpaw took the rabbit and trotted off.

Morningpaw made her way over to Bluestar's den, hopping up the rocks and disapearing behind the Highrock. The den enterence was a small hole between the rock and the ledge is sat beside, but Morningpaw slid right in. Inside it was large, Bluestar's nest in the back and Bluestar herself sitting, waiting for Morningpaw.

"Lionheart is on an important patrol right now, so I will speak to him later about this matter," she started, blue eyes cold, "what you did today was not expected from a kittypet."

"Yes, Bluestar," Morningpaw said, nodding her head.

"It was expected from a warrior, a ferice one," she purred, "and I must first begin by apologizeing about not being too kind."

Morningpaw felt her heart soar. Her leader didn't hate her.

"When you came, the Clan was struggling. As you know, we had just lost an amazing deputy and a dear friend of mine," she said, looking to the side for a moment, "and we welcomed Firepaw, or Rusty as you know him, into our camp only to have im leave us. During this time, all the Clans are struggling. We needed as mush help as we could get and he let us down, so I hope you understand my weariness towards letting you join us."

"Of course Bluestar," Morningpaw said.

"But you have proved yourself," she continued, "I see Longtail has been training you well. He is a young warrior, but strong and loyal to this Clan."

"Yes, he's been very good," Morningpaw said, "he's made me realize many things about my decision to join you."

"Perfect," Bluestar purred, amused, "and I have seen you interacting with the other apprentice. You all seem to get along quiet well."

"Yes, Sandpaw and Dustpaw have helped me a lot with catching up with training," Morningpaw said, "and Graypaw and Ravenpaw have been very supportive as well."

"Good," Bluestar said, opening her mouth to speak again, only to be cut off.

"Bluestar, I come back with important news," Lionheart emerged through the mouth of the den, bowing his head, "sorry to interupt, but it's a dire situation it seems."

"Not to worry Lionheart," she nodded to her deputy before looking back to Morningpaw, "it seems as if our time here as been cut short. Why don't you go have a meal with the others. We can speak again another time."

"Yes Bluestar," Morningpaw nodded to her leader before turning to leave.

"Oh, also, Morningpaw?" Bluestar called.

Morningpaw turned her head to look to her leader, Bluestar's eyes shinning bright.

"Thank you for joining our Clan."

"Thank you for allowing me to," Morningpaw replied, nodding once more before bounding down to join the others for a meal.

Dustpaw and Sandpaw were sharing a robin, while both Graypaw and Ravenpaw ate a mouse. Morningpaw had gotten there late, all the good prey taken, so she settled on a thin vole. She begain to ate the critter, purring happily because of her talk with Bluestar. Longtail walked over to pick something up from the kill pile, flicking his apprentice ear with his tail, smiling to her gently.

"Thanks Longtail," she purred, looking to her mentor with wide eyes, "you really helped me out with that pep talk the other day."

"Of course," he purred, then he grabbed a squirrel, and walked over towards the warriors, settling beside Mousefur and Darkstripe. The tabby top laughed at something Mousefur said and Morningpaw felt a pinch of sourness in her chest. She shook her head and continued on to eating her vole.

"So what _did_ Bluestar say to you?" Graypaw asked, licking his muzzle.

"She just ... talked to me," Morningpaw shrugged, "she noticed me."

"Good for you, kittypet," Sandpaw snorted, rolling her eyes. The ginger she-cat had taken an affectionate tone with the name, and Morningpaw purred, flicking her tail before kicking some dust up with her back paw, covering Sandpaw's side. The she-cat huffed and pushed her meal to the side, jumping on Morningpaw in a play fight.

The two she-cats giggled, rolling around as they tussled, nipping at each others ears. Sandpaw pinned Morningpaw down, purring happily.

"Take that, kittypet."

Morningpaw huffed, kicking her back legs up and pushed Sandpaw up into the air. The ginger she-cat yowled, limps flailing as she sailed backwards, skidding on her paws. Her furr was fluffed up and Morningpaw purred with amusment at the sight of her friend.

"Take _that_."

All the apprentice let out a laugh, catching the attention of the warriors across the way. As they finished up their meal, getting ready to share tongue for a few moments before conducting other duties, Bluestar came out of her den and jumped up to the Highrock, yowling for a Clan meeting.

"All cat's old enough to catch their own prey come forward for a Clan meeting!"

Everyone moved forward, joining below the Highrock. Bluestar stood tall, Lionheart on the ledge below her.

"I sent Lionheart on an important patrol to WindClan territory. Lately their borders have been stale. While there, Lionheart said there was no sign of WindClan. The hunting grounds smelled of ShadowClan, and they found evidence of a battle. During the last Gathering, the new ShadowClan leader, Brokenstar, did not seem hostile. We are not sure what it going on, but the the mean time we will strengthen our borders, patrols will contain more warriors, and kits will remain in or near the nursery at all times."

The queens all let out mews of approval before rushing back to their den to stay with the kits.

"In other news, our newest apprentice, Morningpaw, bravely defended ThunderClan today when the ShadowClan medicine cat, Yellowfang, attacked her. Yellowfang is currently in Spottedleaf's den, hurt, and I expect all of you to treat her with respect. Though she is an enemy Clan, she is a medicine cat and an elder. The apprentices are to see to her everyday once she is well."

All five of them groaned and Bluestar sent them a hard look, silencing them.

"Tomorrow we begin with stronger patrols and preparing our camp for potential attacks. Meeting over."

Bluestar jumped down and returned to her den, the warriors disbursing.

"Looks like we've got some work to do tomorrow," Graypaw huffed.

"For the mean time though, let's relax," Morningpaw said, moving to a patch of sunlight in the center of camp, "a little rest and we'll be back on our paws, ready to defend our Clan!"

"Sounds good to me," Graypaw threw himself down, closing his eyes, "wake me up if Lionheart comes for me."

Morningpaw and the others purred with amusement before they all laid in the sun and shared tongues. They hopped that tomorrow would be a fine day and that no ShadowClan cats would attack.

* * *

 **ThunderClan**

 **Leader:** Bluestar - blue-gray she-cat with silver tinged muzzle

 **Deputy:** Lionheart - magnificent golden tabby tom with thick fur (Apprentice: Graypaw)

 **Medicine Cat:** Spottedleaf - beautiful dark tortoiseshell she-cat with dappled pelt

 **Warriors:**

Tigerclaw - big, dark brown tabby tom with long front claws (Apprentice: Ravenpaw)

Whitestorm - big white tom (Apprenice: Sandpaw)

Darkstripe - sleek black-and-gray tabby tom (Apprentice: Dustpaw)

Longtail - pale tabby tom with black stripes (Apprentice: Morningpaw)

Runningwind - swift tabby tom

Willowpelt - very pale gray she-cat with unusual blue eyes

Mousefur - small dusky brown she-cat

 **Apprentices:**

Dustpaw - dark brown tabby tom

Graypaw - long-haired solid gray tom

Ravenpaw - small, sleek black tom with white dash on chest and tail tip

Sandpaw - pale ginger she-cat

Morningpaw - small red-golden tabby she-kitten

 **Queens**

Frostfur - beautiful white she-cat with blue eyes

Brindleface - pretty tabby

Goldenflower - pale ginger she-cat

Speckletail - pale tabby, oldest queen

 **Elders**

Halftail - big dark brown tabby tom with part of his tail missing

Smallear - gray tom with very small ears

Patchpelt - small black-and-white tom

One-eye - pale gray she-cat, virtually blind and deaf. Oldest cat in ThunderClan

Dappletail - once-pretty tortoiseshell she-cat

 **Other**

Yellowfang - old dark gray she-cat with a broad, flattened face.

 **Cats Outside of the Clans**

Smudge - small black-and-white kitten who lives in a house at the edge of the forest

Rusty - fiery ginger kitten who lives in a house at the edge of the forest, used to be Firepaw


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary:** After living the warrior way for a week, Rusty retreats home, not wanting to continue the rough life. But, another kit decided to venture out after hearing about his tales. Will fire truly save the Clan?

* * *

 **Fire Rising**

 **by. Forever A Writer**

* * *

Chapter Five

It was been a full day before Yellowfang had woken up. Morningpaw and Dustpaw were cleaning the elders den out when a angered yowl echoed through the camp from Spottedleaf's den. The two apprentices looked at each other with wide eyes and sprinted off, curious to see what had happened. Other clan-members were surrounding the area and Morningpaw and Dustpaw wiggled their way through them, the two apprentices peeking into the medicine cat's den. Bluestar and Lonheart were already inside with Spottedleaf, and Yellowfang was in the back of the den, lips raised in a snarl.

"Yellowfang, please calm down," Spottedleaf said, "you're going to injure yourself more."

"Why have you taken me hostage?" Yellowfang snarled, fur fluffing up and claws sinking into the ground.

"We haven't," Lionheart said, nodding her head to the medicine cat, "you were in our territory and encoutered one of our apprentices. She clames you attacked her and when she fought back, you hit your head and passed out."

"What? What apprentice? I want to see them," the old queen snarled.

The deputy looked around, and when his eyes landed on the ex-kittypet, Morningpaw swallowed hard and tried to shimmy out, but one of the cats behind her, Mousefur, nudged her forward. Morningpaw tumbled forward, landing between the leader and deputy.

"This kit knocked me out?" Yellowfang hissed, narrowing her yellow eyes at Morningpaw.

"I wouldn't say 'knocked out'," Morningpaw said, still cowarded down, "It's more like I kicked you off and you hit your head."

Yellowfang scoffed and shifted, wincing in pain. Spottedleaf sighed and moved towards her, but the ex-ShadowClan cat hissed, eyes narrowed. "I know how to treat my own wounds."

"I'm sorry for your confusion," Bluestar said, "it must have been strange waking up in ThunderClan and not ShadowClan. May I ask ... what exactly are you doing _outside_ of ShadowClan?"

"Bah," the old cat huffed, fur ruffling, "I'm no ShadowClan cat, not anymore. Our leader is no leader. I'm a rouge now, on my own. I don't need a Clan."

"Brokenstar didn't seem like any trouble at the last Gathering," Lionheart said.

"Yeah, we'll you don't have him as a leader," the she-cat groaned as she laid down, "my legs hurt and I'm hungry. Could you please not crowd me?"

"Of course," Bluestar nodded and looked sharply over her shoulder towards the ThunderClan cats who quickly scattered, "I'll have Morningpaw go out and catch you some fresh prey right now."

"What?" Morningpaw said, eyes wide.

"Good, put that apprentice to work," Yellowfang huffed, "though, you don't look very Clan-like. I don't think I've seen you at any of the Gatherings."

"I-I just haven't gone yet," Morningpaw stammered, "I wasn't ready, but my first Gathering is coming up!"

"Ah these young ones," Yellowfang sighed, eyes glazing over for a moment, "first they're excited about Gatherings, then becoming a warrior, and next thing you know ...,"

"Find her something good, Morningpaw," Bluestar said, eyes lingering on Yellowfang, "she is a guest after all."

"Yes Bluestar," the young apprentice nodded and then left the den. Dustpaw bounded over to her quickly, amber eyes wide.

"I guess I'm finishing the rest of the elder's dens, right?" He asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Yeah, sorry," Morningpaw sighed, "Bluestar has me going to fetch from fresh-kill for Yellowfang."

"Ah, it's alright," the other apprentice looked over his shoulder towards the medicine cats den, "even though it seems useless taking care of that flea-bag. Darkstripe said that she's just an extra mouth to feed. We have enough to get to already."

"Yeah, but she is an elder, and a medicine cat."

" _Was_ a medicine cat," Dustpaw grumbled, eyes narrowing, "now she's a rouge."

"Well, what's wrong with that?" Morningpaw asked, feeling her pelt warm up.

"They're wild and dangerous," he said, "nothing like kittypets. Darkstripe was right when he said that the Clan was getting to welcoming. First a kittypet and now a rouge? True warrior blood is going to get lost."

Morningpaw felt something strike in her heart and she flinched away from Dustpaw who turned to her quickly. His eyes were confused and then sad as he moved forward.

"No, Morningpaw, I didn't mean-,"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," she said, looking away, "I mean, you said it after all, right? Darkstripe is your mentor and you want to be just like him. You want to hate non-Clan cats."

"No, Morningpaw-,"

"I have to go hunt," she said, walking away, "tell Sandpaw and Ravenpaw to save something for me to eat later."

Morningpaw bounded away and through the camp enterence, leaving the dark brown tabby behind.

* * *

In the forest, the smell of the wild filled her sense. Trees, dirt, and fresh kill surrounded her and she stopped for a moment, taking it all in. She remembered that Ravenpaw and Sandpaw were out on a hunting patrol with their mentors and they said they were trying to the Owl Tree. Morningpaw decided she would try near Sunning Rocks, which she found out was where she first stumbled upon Clan life when she was still a kittypet. Tensions were still high with RiverClan, though, so she opted out of going too close to Sunning Rocks.

The sun was just beginning to sink in the sky, and Morningpaw was hoping to get a few peices of fresh-kill before returning home. She also wante to bring some to the queens. She had promised Goldenflower a vole a few days ago and Morningpaw had yet to go on a hunting patrol. Now was her chance.

Morningpaw scented the area, picking up the scent of a mouse and a bird. A finch. She decided to go for the finch, hoping she'd get on Yellowfangs good side if she brought home a plump bird as well as some feathers for the elder cats nest. Morningpaw went to work, tracking the scent towards the border of the territory where the bird sat on the ground, plicking away at some seeds. Morningpaw licked her jaws, crouching low to the ground. She inched forward slowly, keeping her tail low to the ground to balance herself. When she was a few paw lengths away, the she-cat sprang forward with a growl, startling the bird. The finsh jumped, wings opening wide to fly away, but Morningpaw's claws caught the bird, tossing it to the ground. She bit it's neck quickly, purring happily at the clean kill she got.

As time went on, Morningpaw collected a nice amount of prey, and when the sun just started to dip below the horizon, she scurried off back to camp, excited with her load.

Once there, she deposited her kill, purring happily as Longtail complimented her on her catches. She picked up the finch, and the vole she managed to catch just before heading back to camp. First she went to the queens nest, popping her head in to see the queens and kits. The den smelled of milk and was warm. Kits were squealing inside and all the queens were sitting peacefully.

"Ah, Morningpaw," a she-cat said, her golden pelt shaded by the leaves of the den, "I see you managed to get that vole for me."

"Of course, Goldenflower," Morningpaw purred, placing the vole down, "I hope you haven't had anyhting to eat yet."

"Oh, no worries," the queen purred back, "I made sure to wait until you came back."

"Well I have to bring this finch to Yellowfang," Morningpaw said, tail flicking, "but I hope you enjoy."

"Of course. Goodbye Morningpaw!"

The apprentice then made her way towards the medicine cats den.

"Finally," Yellowfang grumbled from the back of the den, "I thought I would have to go catch my own prey."

"I wanted to get something good," Morningpaw said, dropping the bird, "and something with feathers so you could line our nest."

"Bah, I don't need feather to make myself comfortable. I'm no kittypet."

Morningpaw flinched and mumbled an apology before turning quickly and walking out of the den. Across the clearing, Sandpaw and Ravenpaw lay, sharing a big rabbit. Morningpaw walked to them quickly, her stomach growling.

"It's about time," Sandpaw huffed, grooming her side, "I thought we were going to have to bring this otehr half to the elders to finish up!"

"Sorry," Morningpaw said, digging into the rabbit, "I got caught up hunting."

"I noticed," Sandpaw flicked her tail toward the pile of fresh-kill, "Doesn't look like we'll need a morning hunting patrol."

"I don't know," Ravenpaw purred, "Morningpaw might need a little extra food with how she eats."

"What?" Morningpaw looked up, mouth messy from her meal. The other two apprentices purred in amusement. Morningpaw licked her jaws clean, her pelt warming up with embaressment.

"Hey, Morningpaw," Dustpaw's voice came from behind and she turned her head to see the tabby apprentice. Behind him was Darkstripe, Mousefur, and Willowpelt. "We're going on a night patrol real fast. Longtail said you could come if you wanted to."

"I-I don't think so," Morningpaw said, looking away, "I'm a little tired from hunting."

"Oh, sure," the tabby tom's ears went flat with disappointment, "well, maybe next time."

As the other apprentice walked away, Sandpaw and Ravenpaw looked to Morningpaw with confused eyes.

"What happened between you two?" Sandpaw asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," the golden she-cat huffed, suddenly losing her appatite and pushing the rest of the rabbit away.

"Come on, you can talk to us," Ravenpaw said, resting his head on his paws.

"I said I don't want to talk about it," she hissed, standing up suddenly, "I'm going to bed. Don't wake me or Graypaw up when you come in for the night."

Morningpaw then trotted off to the den and crawled into her nest. She curled up, closing her eyes tight. Graypaw was snoring in the nest near her, but his noises couldn't drown out the words that repeated in her head that Dustpaw said earlier.

No matter what she did, it seemed like the Clan wouldn't see her as anything but an ex-kittypet.

* * *

The next morning Morningpaw woke up to an empty den. She rose slowly, shaking her pelt out before walking out of the den. The camp was busy, as busy as it was yesterday, with warrior and elders alike making preperations and strengthening the den. A patrol waited by the camp entrence. Graypaw, Ravenpaw, Lionheart, and Tigerclaw were waiting to leave as soon as the last patrol came in. Longtail was weaving twigs and sticks into the side of the nursery with Goldenflower.

"Nice catch!" An excited voice came from the enterence and Morningpaw looked to see Sandpaw walking in with a crow in her jaws. She purred happily before trotting off to the medicine cats den. Morningpaw assumed it was her day to take care of Yellowfang. The rest of the patrol came in and Lionheart's left quickly. ThunderClan didn't want to leave their boarders empty.

"Morningpaw," Longtail called, trotting over. The sand in the hallow had turned to a mud from the rain the other night, and the mud stained the warrior's paws and legs, "glad to see you're finally awake."

"Sorry," the apprentice said, looking down.

"No worries," Longtail purred, "we all need our days to sleep in. You were up late with the others, no shame."

"So what are we doing today?" Morningpaw asked.

"Well," Longtail said, "Darkstripe and I are going out with you and Dustpaw."

"Oh," Morningpaw seemed to deflate, "more battle training?"

"Actually, no," Longtail seemed to perk up a bit, "today we are assessing your warrior skills! Darkstripe will be following you and I will be following Dustpaw so there is no bias."

"But Darkstripe doesn't like me."

"He's smart enough to know not to speak badly of a loyal and good warrior," Longtail purred, making Morningpaw's heart flutter with pride.

"Dustpaw should be back soon from fatching some mouse bile from the forest for Yellowfang's ticks," Longtail turned, "grab something you and he can share before we head out."

Morningpaw nodded, a little nervous. Not only was this her first assessment, but she had it with Dustpaw. She hopped that the tension between them wouldn't effect the way she displayed her skills.

The apprentice made her way towards the fresh-kill pile and nosed through it, finding a decent sized mouse for her and Dustpaw. She sat down, waiting for her Clanmate before she began. Soon, the tabby made his way through the camp enterence, a twig gribbed in his teeth. He slowly made his way towards the medicine cat's den, avoiding the kits that were playing outside of the den. He disappeared inside the medicine cats den before walking out. As soon as he got half way across the camp, a yowl came form the medicine cats den. Yellowfang was standing at the enterence of the den, pelt ruffled and teeth barred. The kits who were just playing were not coward back. They mother rushed forward, hissing at the ShadowClan cat before ushering her kits away. Yellowfang spat something out before turning around and returning inside the den.

"What was that about?" Morningpaw asked Dustpaw when the tom joined her.

"I'm not sure," Dustpaw said, settling down, "the kits were playing. One of them was Brokenstar."

"Probably not smart around her," Morningpaw huffed, taking a bit from the mouse.

Dustpaw simply shrugged and the two ate the mouse silently. Once they finished, Morningpaw stood up, shaking her pelt, trying to get the mud off. Dustpaw opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Darkstripe called for the two apprentices. The two made their way over to their mentors who lead them out of camp and into the forest, towards the Sandy Hollow. Once there, the two warriors turn to their apprentices.

"Today we will be assessing your warrior skills," Darkstripe said, deadpan.

"You'll be hunting," Longtail continued, "you with both take seperate trails and try to catch as much fresh-kill as possible. It will be added to the supplies in camp."

"Keep that in mind," Darkstripe said, "you'll be adding to the camp supplies so dont wimp out."

"I'll be watching Dustpaw, and Darkstripe will watch Morningpaw."

Morningpaw sighed, a little relieved that she was working alone. If she had to work with Dustpaw, she may have failed her first assessment. But now it was no problem. She could focus all on her own.

"Dustpaw, you'll take the trail from the Great Sycamore all the way to Snakerocks," Darkstripe said, "and Morningpaw, you'll take near the Tallpines and Woodcut place, down the line of Twoleg's nests."

Dustpaw and Morningpaw nodded, waiting for the go ahead. Darkstrpe hissed at them, telling them not to waste time and the two scrambled off quickly, ready to please their mentors.

Morningpaw ran through the forest, trying to reach her destination quickly. She was light on her paws, careful not to disturbe too much of the ground below her. She then leapt over the narrow path that cut between the forest and Tallpines, scenting the air. Usually there were a lot of mice and squirrels in this area, but today, Morningpaw could only scent some birds. She huffed. She didn't feel like launching herself in the air today to get prey, but she didn't want to let her mentor down.

Soon, the scent of a robin wafted over her. Morningpaw settled into a crouch, following the scent until she saw the dusty brown bird collecting grass and twigs on the ground. Morningpaw licked her jaws, already tasting the bird in her jaws. She inched forwards slowly. The bird hadn't known she was there until she launched through the air and right on top of it, killing it quickly. She purred happily, but knew she didn't have time to mess around. With a quick moment, she buried the robin, taking note of where it was to pick up on her way back. Now she was going to try the real forest.

Back in the thick of oak trees, Morningpaw felt more at home. She inhale deeply, picking up the scent of prey that lurked about. She continued forward, picking up on the smell of a squirrel. Soon, she saw the red-brown fur of the creature, only it was in a branch. The apprentice huffed, thinking it was useless, until she noticed a near by fallen over tree, tipped to the side and resting upon the trunk of the tree the squirrel was settled in. If Morningpaw could scale the tree without being seen, there was a chance she could capture that squirrel.

Quickly, the she-cat made her way to the fallen tree, crouching low and using her claws to balance herself. Her tail lashed as she kept balance, scaling up the tree quickly and silently. She crept up behind the mouth, her heart pounding. She then reached out with a single paw, slapping the creature to the ground. It let out a startled screech, hitting the forest floor hard. Morningpaw quickly jumped down, descending onto the creature and killed it with a swift bite. She had never felt so proud of a kill in her life since becoming a ThunderClan apprentice!

"That was crazy!" A loud voice came from behind her and Morningpaw jumped, spinning around with her teeth barred and her claws out. She hadn't noticed how close she was to the Twoleg's nests. The fencing separating their territories with the forest were just tail lengths away.

"Who goes there," she shouted, moving closer, "You're on ThunderClan territory!"

"Patty?"

Morningpaw froze at the mention of her old name and she peered up. On top of the fence sat a flaming orange tabby tom.

"Rusty?"

"Man, I thought you died!" Rusty leapt down, eyes wide as he looked at his old neighbor. "I thought for sure those ThunderClan cats got to you! Tigerclaw, he was scary."

"No, no I'm in the Clan now," Morningpaw said, tail flicking, "My name is Morningpaw."

"They gave me a weird name too," the tom scrunched his nose, "Firepaw."

"Well I like my new name," she said, "I think it suits me."

"Well what are you doing here?" the tom asked, peering over her shoulder, "Hunting?"

"I'm doing my first assessment as an apprentice," the she-cat answered, looking over her shoulder to the squirrel she just got, "they're testing my warrior skills."

"Interesting," the tom said. A sudden holler from the other side of the fence Rusty just hopped over made both cats jump. "Oh, sounds like my housefolk are calling. Well, it was nice seeing you Patty-I mean Morningpaw. I'm glad you found your home."

"Me too," Morningpaw purred, "Oh and Rusty? Be careful. I know you understand how tough Clan cats are, but times are troublesome now and you don't want to get caught up in them, alright?"

"Sure thing Morningpaw," Rusty purred before jumping over into the Twoleg territory.

Morningpaw smiled, a little happy that she saw her childhood friend. She then turned, looking at the squirrel she just caught. She buried it quickly and continued on. She had an assessment to conquer.

* * *

 **ThunderClan**

 **Leader:** Bluestar - blue-gray she-cat with silver tinged muzzle

 **Deputy:** Lionheart - magnificent golden tabby tom with thick fur (Apprentice: Graypaw)

 **Medicine Cat:** Spottedleaf - beautiful dark tortoiseshell she-cat with dappled pelt

 **Warriors:**

Tigerclaw - big, dark brown tabby tom with long front claws (Apprentice: Ravenpaw)

Whitestorm - big white tom (Apprenice: Sandpaw)

Darkstripe - sleek black-and-gray tabby tom (Apprentice: Dustpaw)

Longtail - pale tabby tom with black stripes (Apprentice: Morningpaw)

Runningwind - swift tabby tom

Willowpelt - very pale gray she-cat with unusual blue eyes

Mousefur - small dusky brown she-cat

 **Apprentices:**

Dustpaw - dark brown tabby tom

Graypaw - long-haired solid gray tom

Ravenpaw - small, sleek black tom with white dash on chest and tail tip

Sandpaw - pale ginger she-cat

Morningpaw - small red-golden tabby she-kitten

 **Queens**

Frostfur - beautiful white she-cat with blue eyes

Brindleface - pretty tabby

Goldenflower - pale ginger she-cat

Speckletail - pale tabby, oldest queen

 **Elders**

Halftail - big dark brown tabby tom with part of his tail missing

Smallear - gray tom with very small ears

Patchpelt - small black-and-white tom

One-eye - pale gray she-cat, virtually blind and deaf. Oldest cat in ThunderClan

Dappletail - once-pretty tortoiseshell she-cat

 **Other**

Yellowfang - old dark gray she-cat with a broad, flattened face.

 **Cats Outside of the Clans**

Smudge - small black-and-white kitten who lives in a house at the edge of the forest

Rusty - fiery ginger kitten who lives in a house at the edge of the forest, used to be Firepaw


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary:** After living the warrior way for a week, Rusty retreats home, not wanting to continue the rough life. But, another kit decided to venture out after hearing about his tales. Will fire truly save the Clan?

* * *

 **Fire Rising**

 **by. Forever A Writer**

* * *

Chapter Six

Morningpaw returned to the sandy clearing with the robin and squirrel. Her other catches were buried along the path she hunted on. Darkstripe and Longtail sat in the clearing, chatting idly as Morningpaw dropped her prey. Longtail purred his approval and Darkstripe huffed, looking to the side.

"I have some more to get," Morningpaw said.

"I know," Darkstripe snapped, glaring at the apprentice, "I've been watching you. Go get it."

"I'm sure by the time you come back, Dustpaw will be here too," Longtail said, sending a glare to his fellow warrior. Morningpaw simply nodded and continued off. It took her an additional two trips to get everything else. A robin, a squirrel, three mice, and two voles. She was pleasantly surprised and pleased with herself at the catches. Dustpaw had finally returned too, but his pile was significantly smaller than hers. On her last trip back, Morningpaw walked into a tense atmosphere, Dustpaw hunched over the pile of mice and a couple squirrels, Darkstripe standing close to him with his hackles raised. It was obvious that she has just walked in at the end of a harsh discussion.

"Er, let's get going," Longtail said, trying to break the tension, "I'll help you carry this back, Morningpaw."

Morningpaw picked up the three mice by their tails while Longtail grabbed the other pieces of prey. Darkstripe snarled at Dustpaw that he could carry his own. Dustpaw looked a little sullen, the tom's eyes sad as he grabbed the prey. Three small mice and two squirrels. One of the squirrels was quite large though. Morningpaw wondered if their altercation had put the tom in a sour mood. She hoped not. He was a good apprentice, due to become a warrior soon. If a simple disagreement put him in this bad of a mood, than he would struggle even more. Morningpaw had to apologize. Her reaction was a little intense. Sure, he had insulted kittypet's, but she knew he wasn't trying to take a jab at her directly. She made a note in the back of her mind to say something to the tom later.

When they returned to camp, Morningpaw felt pride surge through her. The kittens who were playing outside of the nursery looked at the apprentices in awe, eyes wide as they watched so many piece of prey come in.

"Wow," one she-kit said, her gray fur fluffed up, "did you catch all that, Morningpaw?"

Morningpaw purred, giving the kit a wink and the kit squealed, looking at her litter mates and going on about how she told them Morningpaw was the best hunter ever.

The apprentices dumped their prey in the fresh-kill pile as their mentors waited.

"You both did well today," Longtail said, "we'll be going off to report to Bluestar shortly."

"I'm sure she'll speak to both of you," Darkstripe said, his eye lingering on Morningpaw, "maybe more to one than the other."

"You two deserve a break, though," Longtail said, "Darkstripe and I agreed to let you both have the rest of the day off. Feel free to get something to eat and just relax. Every apprentice needs a day off every once in a while."

The two apprentice nodded as their mentors walked off. Dustpaw muttered something about going to the nursery and before Morningpaw could say anything, the tom grabbed a piece of fresh-kill and bounded off.

As Morningpaw watched the tom disappear inside the den, Graypaw walked over, face scrunched up. He had been on elder duty as the apprentices called it. He must have just finished.

"Gezz," he said, shivering, "I never want to clean ticks again. It was bad this time."

Morningpaw smiled with amusement, but was still focused on the nursery. Graypaw looked over to, head tilted.

"Dustpaw's been a little weird lately," Graypaw said, "how did your guys assessment go?"

"Fine," she said, "he didn't catch so much. We got in a fight not too long ago."

"Ahh," Graypaw said, "that explains a lot."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

Before Graypaw could answer, Morningpaw's name was hollered from across the clearing. The two apprentices looked to see Tigerclaw standing outside of the medicine cats den. Spottedleaf was out, but Yellowfang was there. The ex-ShadowClan medicine cat had taken to staying in the den. She only seemed to put up with Spottedleaf. It must have been some medicine cat agreement.

Morningpaw jumped up, and moved towards Tigerclaw. The dark tabby loomed over her, eyes shinning. The apprentice looked up to him. She could never tell if her heart beat faster in the presence of the tom because she admired him or because she feared him. She was still trying to figure it out.

"Yellowfang's hungry," he said gruffly.

"It's Sandpaw's day."

"And she's out on patrol," the tom growled, "get Yellowfang something to eat before she becomes even more of an annoyance."

With that, the senior warrior pushed past the apprentice. Morningpaw glared after the tom. Maybe she didn't fear or admire him at all, but was merely annoyed.

Morningpaw grabbed the large squirrel she caught and made her way to the medicine cats den quickly. Yellowfang was working at her pelt, licking out a particularly nasty knot in her fur. She looked up without much interest at first when Morningpaw entered, but then licked her jaws at the sight of the squirrel.

"Tigerstar said you hadn't been brought anything," the apprentice said after dropping the squirrel in front of the she-cat.

"I told him to bring me something," Yellowfang huffed, "but he must have thought he was too good for that."

"Well, it is the apprentices duty to help you," Morningpaw didn't know why she was defending the tom, but it felt wrong to talk bad about her own Clanmate to an enemy cat, "but then again, everyone should be taking care of each other within the Clan."

"Spoken like a true ThunderClan cat," Yellowfang huffed, tearing into the squirrel, "too bad you aren't one."

"E-excuse me?"

"I know you're a kittypet," Yellowfang gnawed away at the fresh kill, "or _were_ a kittypet. Not too surprised ThunderClan took you in."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Look," Yellowfang sighed, giving the she-cat a dull look, "I don't care. I'm not part of ShadowClan so it's not like I'm going to go off and share ThunderClan secrets with them. You may not be a ThunderClan cat by blood, but you sure are busting your tail for this Clan."

Morningpaw looked off to the side, sheepish.

"To some cats, blood is all that matters, to other it's loyalty," Yellowfang got a distance look in her eyes, "and for few, it's power."

"Morningpaw!" A surprised meow came from the front of the den and the apprentice turned to see Spottedleaf and Ravenpaw walking into the den. Ravenpaw carried a leaf full of herbs while Spottedleaf had cobwebs all over her body, making her look like a cloud.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," the golden she-cat said, moving to the side, "I was just bringing Yellowfang something to eat."

"No worries," Spottedleaf purred, "Ravenpaw, you can put those herbs in the back. Thank you for helping me. I'll be sure to speak to Bluestar about our conversation earlier."

The black tom nodded and eagerly trotted to the back of the den, disappearing.

"You look like a cloud," Morningpaw said, eyes wide.

"Oh, goodness, yes I do," the medicine cat purred, "I figured it would be easier to do this. Also, a storm seems to be coming in soon, so I figured I'd get a much as I can and keep it dry."

"Smart," Morningpaw said, "well, I'll be off. Longtail gave me a free day and I plan to use it to my advantage."

"Of course," Spottedleaf moved out of the way, "have a good day."

"You too," Morningpaw said, "and you as well, Yellowfang."

The ShadowClan she-cat just nodded, and continued to go at the squirrel.

Morningpaw crossed the clearing to where Graypaw and Dustpaw sat, sharing tongues. The she-cat grabbed a mouse from the fresh-kill pile and joined them.

" ... and I'm telling you, Dustpaw, it's like they never even existed!" Graypaw exclaimed.

"What are you two going on about?" Morningpaw asked.

"My patrol this morning," Graypaw's eyes were wide, "we went towards the WindClan border to see if there was any sight of them. Maybe they returned, but there was nothing. No scent, and it seemed like the fresh-kill was hiding as well. It was strange."

"Hopefully they'll show up at the Gathering tomorrow. We can't just lose one Clan. There's always been four!"

"Hey, it's more space to us," Dustpaw said, "WindClan has always been on the weaker side."

"So what?" Morningpaw said, "we're all here to help one another and live together. We all follow StarClan and our code. If one Clan leaves, the others can't just rise up and take it's land. We're all in this together!"

"Easy for you to say," Graypaw snorted, "you haven't seen the worst of Clan life yet. Leaf-bare, the river being frozen over, prey going away."

"Yet here you guys are, still thriving," Morningpaw said. Both the tom's nodded, agreeing to her point. Soon after, Ravenpaw joined them, the tom smelling like the forest and an arrangement of herbs. He was purring happily, a vole clamped tightly in his jaws. He settled next to Morningpaw, joining the apprentices in their mid-day conversation.

"You seem to be getting along well with Spottedleaf," Graypaw side, looking at the other tom, "aren't your wounds healed up already from that RiverClan fight?"

"Yep," the black tom said, "but she's been teaching me a lot of stuff. Something bigs about to happen guys."

"What do you mean?" Morningpaw asked, confused.

"You'll see," Ravenpaw said, looking to the medicine cats den, where Spottedleaf was emerging. The tortoiseshell she-cat trotted across camp quickly towards Bluestar's den and disappeared inside, "you'll see real soon."

The apprentices all looked at each other, confused, but continued on. If Ravenpaw didn't want to share, he didn't have to. It wasn't too long until Graypaw had to leave for battle training with Lionheart, and then Ravenpaw was sent to get new moss for the nursery. Morningpaw and Dustpaw were left alone, the two sitting a tail length apart, sunning themselves.

"I'm sorry about the other day," Morningpaw said, looking up at the sky and watching the clouds pass, "I know I reacted harshly, but I was hurt by what you said. No matter what, my roots lead to being a kittypet, and I'm proud of that."

"I know," Dustpaw said after a moment, "I just ... I had even forgotten you used to be one. You're so much like us ...,"

"That's because I am one of you," Morningpaw said, looking to Dustpaw, " I am a ThunderClan apprentice, and one day a ThunderClan warrior. I may have come from a kittypet life, but my loyalty is with the Clan. And I know that for sure."

"I know," Dustpaw sighed, looking to the she-cat, "I'm sorry for what I said. If anything, you've proven how wrong Darkstripe and Tigerclaw are about kittypets."

"Thank you," Moringpaw purred, "now, let's get past this."

Dustpaw purred with amusement and the two apprentices settled back down, ready to rest. The sun was warm, the camp was calm, and their bellies were full. Life seemed too good.

* * *

That night, Morningpaw sat with Sandpaw, the two purring with amusement as the kits tumbled around outside the nursery, trying to get in their last moments of play before going to sleep for the night. Dustpaw had gone for a late night hunt. A part of Morningpaw thought it was so he could prove himself for the faulty assessment. Graypaw and Ravenpaw were seated outside of the elders den, listening to their tales about ancient warriors and leaders with wide eyes as if they were kits again.

Morningpaw was explaining to Sandpaw about her talk with Bluestar earlier. The leader had called the apprentice into her den to give her a talk about her assessment.

"I heard that you were seen with an old kittypet friend of yours?" The leader had said with steady eyes.

"Well," Morningpaw trailed off, tail tucked away, "I was hunting near the Twoleg's nests and I guess Rusty had been around and he saw me catch a squirrel and than realized who I was and asked me a few questions. I thought it would be rude ..., I'm sorry Bluestar. He's an old friend and I didn't seem any harm in it at the moment."

"I know plenty about old friends," Bluestar said, "but you can't let your friendships with others outside of this Clan to effect you. You're Clan comes first, not old kittypet friends."

"I understand," Morningpaw hung her head.

"I did hear that you caught an impressive amount of prey," Bluestar purred lightly, "It makes me happy to see you becoming such a strong part of this Clan. I know Rusty had troubles, but you've fallen into Clanlife easily."

"Thank you, Bluestar," the she-cat smiled, "This is my home."

"Good to hear," Bluetsra said, "tomorrow I expect you, Graypaw, and Sandpaw to join the Clan at the Gathering."

"Really?" Morningpaw ask, eyes wide with excitement.

"Yes," Bluestar said, "now, if you could please tell Dustpaw to come to my den, I need to speak with him as well."

Morningpaw shook her head, pulling herself from the memory of the earlier conversation and looked to Sandpaw who was getting up. Morningpaw looked to see Bluestar standing tall. She must have called for a Clan meeting and Morningpaw didn't even realize! She stood and followed Sandpaw, sitting next to the apprentice as Bluestar looked over the Clan.

"This does not occur often within a Clan," Bluestar started, "but sometimes our paw's bring us down the path that StarClan didn't originally intend for us. Spottedleaf, if you would please come forward."

The Clan watched as their medicine cat jumped up high, landing gracefully on the ledge of the High Rock. The tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat's pelt shone bright in the sunlight and her amber eyes scanned the clan below her.

"Recently, I have been having an apprentice assist me," she said, "originally, Ravenpaw helped because of his injury from the RiverClan battle at Sunning Rocks, but I have noticed his passion for medicine cat life. He has spoken to me and Bluestar and has asked if he can stop his warrior training and begin his apprenticeship at a medicine cat."

Yowls of surprise rang out throughout the group. Morningpaw whipped her head around to look at her friend who sat with his chest puffed out with pride, a gesture that the black-and-white apprentice almost never did. Morningpaw then saw Tigerclaw, the tom's amber eyes wide with surprise, but a fire of betrayal burning within them.

"Is this even allowed?" a voice yowled out, Darkstripe standing tall with his tail lashing.

"Yes," Spottedleaf said, "and to farther this decision, I have been given a sign by StarClan. Last night, as I sat awake wondering myself if Ravenpaw should become my apprentice, a raven flew low in the sky, skimming past me and one of it's feathers fluttered down and landed in front of my paws. Ravenpaw was meant to be a medicine cat."

"Isn't it a little late to start his trainging?" Tigerclaw spoke up, his fur ruffled, "Ravenpaw is merely a moon away from becoming a warrior. Should we really throw away all his training just because he wants to play with some special leaves and talk to dead cats?"

"Every part of the Clan is important," Bluestar said, "medicine cats are just as, if not more, important as leaders. Spottedleaf is still young, but it's important to has smart, strong medicine cats to help a Clan. Ravenpaw has a lot more learning to do now, but at least he can defend and support his Clan in more than one way."

The Clan went silent and Tigerclaw simply raised a lip in a snarl before turning and stalking off to the warriors den. Ravenpaw watched his old mentor, but the toms pelt prickled with excitment. Spottedleaf called his name out and Ravenpaw sprang up and trotted forward. The medicine cat jumped down and smiled to the tom. The two touched noises breifky and the Clan yowled out his name.

"Ravenpaw! Ravenpaw!" Morningpaw thought her and Graypaw's voice were the loudest among the cats. The newly appointed medicine cat apprentice smiled widely, his golden eyes shinning.

"For other matters," Bluestar's voice rang over the Clan, "tomorrow is the Gathering. I have chosen Tigerclaw, Longtail, Darkstripe, Mousefur, Morningpaw, Graypaw, and Dustpaw to come. The rest of you shall guard the camp. If these rumors about Brokenstar are true, and WindClan is still absent, then we need to be on high alert. Meeting dismissed."

Morningpaw felt like she was going to burst out of her pelt. The warrior apprentice bounded over to Ravenpaw, the others close behind her as they congratulated their friend.

"I have no idea you wanted to be a medicine cat apprentice," Graypaw said, eyes wide.

"Me either," Ravenpaw licked his chest nervously, "but when I was helping Spottedleaf ... something just clicked."

"But all that warrior's training," Dustpaw said, shifting his paws, "all of it's going to waste, don't you think?"

"Well as long as you're happy, we're happy," Morningpaw said, giving Dustpaw a shove with her shoulder, "and besides, you can battle along side us _and_ heal us when your training is complete. That is more than enough for help towards the Clan."

"Exactly!" Graypaw said, eyes sparkling, "just think of Ravenpaw leaping into battle, cobwebs clinging to his body as he wounds one enemy and then helps heal one of us! Just a black streak of power and helpfulness! Man, we'll be able to defeat any attacker!"

"This all sounds fun," Spottedleaf spoke up, walking towards the cats, "but before any of that happens Ravenpaw has to train. He may have learned a lot already, but there is much more he needs to understand if he wishes to become the next medicine cat."

"Yeah, exactly," Ravenpaw stood, "I'll see you guys later. I'm going to be staying in the medicine cat's den now, but I'll be sure to tag along on a hunting patrol or two when I get a free chance! See you at the Gathering, Morningpaw, Graypaw!"

"Man," Graypaw said, watching the two cats walk away, "he gets to sleep in the medicine cat's den with Spottedleaf! That's so cool!"

"And Yellowfang," Dustpaw snorted.

The apprenticed all grimaced, feeling bad for their friend who was now stuck with the grouchy old she-cat.

"Well, at least the Gathering is tomorrow," Morningpaw said, "It's a shame you aren't coming with us."

"Eh," Sandpaw shrugged, "I've been a few times. Plus, Bluestar needs the best apprentice to watch over the camp."

Morningpaw purred in amusement.

"Shouldn't you four be heading to bed soon," a voice hollered across the clearing and the apprentices flinched at the sternness of Lionheart's tone.

"Yes sir," all four of them responded before quickly running to the den.

"I can't wait to met the other Clans," Graypaw said as he settled down in his nest.

"I'm just excited that I get to go," Morningpaw purred, "I never thought I'd be able to go so soon."

"You're a really fast learner, Morningpaw," Dustpaw said, running his tail down her spine, "also, you and Sandpaw are neck and neck with the best hunter."

"Oh please," Morningpaw rolled her eyes, "Sandpaw has caught much more than I have."

"True," Sandpaw said, "but you've also caught more than I did when I was only a few moons into my training."

"Well I'm tired," Graypaw yawned, "so let's go to bed."

"Sure thing boss," Morningpaw purred, curling up, "I just hope tomorrow goes by fast."

"It will," Dustpaw whispered to her, "no worries."

Morningpaw gave him a soft smile before closing her eyes and drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

 **ThunderClan**

 **Leader:** Bluestar - blue-gray she-cat with silver tinged muzzle

 **Deputy:** Lionheart - magnificent golden tabby tom with thick fur (Apprentice: Graypaw)

 **Medicine Cat:** Spottedleaf - beautiful dark tortoiseshell she-cat with dappled pelt (Apprentice: Ravenpaw)

 **Warriors:**

Tigerclaw - big, dark brown tabby tom with long front claws

Whitestorm - big white tom (Apprentice: Sandpaw)

Darkstripe - sleek black-and-gray tabby tom (Apprentice: Dustpaw)

Longtail - pale tabby tom with black stripes (Apprentice: Morningpaw)

Runningwind - swift tabby tom

Willowpelt - very pale gray she-cat with unusual blue eyes

Mousefur - small dusky brown she-cat

 **Apprentices:**

Dustpaw - dark brown tabby tom

Graypaw - long-haired solid gray tom

Ravenpaw - small, sleek black tom with white dash on chest and tail tip

Sandpaw - pale ginger she-cat

Morningpaw - small red-golden tabby she-kitten

 **Queens**

Frostfur - beautiful white she-cat with blue eyes

Brindleface - pretty tabby

Goldenflower - pale ginger she-cat

Speckletail - pale tabby, oldest queen

 **Elders**

Halftail - big dark brown tabby tom with part of his tail missing

Smallear - gray tom with very small ears

Patchpelt - small black-and-white tom

One-eye - pale gray she-cat, virtually blind and deaf. Oldest cat in ThunderClan

Dappletail - once-pretty tortoiseshell she-cat

 **Other**

Yellowfang - old dark gray she-cat with a broad, flattened face.

 **Cats Outside of the Clans**

Smudge - small black-and-white kitten who lives in a house at the edge of the forest

Rusty - fiery ginger kitten who lives in a house at the edge of the forest, used to be Firepaw


End file.
